1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods of enabling data stored on storage media and more specifically to a method and apparatus for enabling data by retrieving from a computer a piece of information necessary to access the data and combining that information with information stored on the storage medium containing the data to access the data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As distribution systems for various types of content have historically developed, distribution systems have taken on certain relatively inflexible structures. For example, in distribution of music or motion pictures, a publisher typically produces, or arranges for production of, physical media (such as CDs or video tapes or DVDs), arranges for sales through retail locations, mail order houses (or in the case of movies, to movie rental services), with royalties from the sales going to the content owners. It is believed that a more flexible distribution system, e.g., allowing content owners to decide whether to sell physical media, bit-stream content, or both can not only enhance revenue streams for publishers and content owners, but also make content more widely available to consumers.
The need for alternative channels for content distribution is consistent with the popularity of electronic downloading of content, including downloading of MP3-format music and other content. However, electronic downloading, in current forms, is relatively susceptible to misuse, such as copyright violations, depriving content owners of potential revenue. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide for content distribution in a fashion which is relatively flexible and/or which can assist in protecting content owners"" rights.
Many traditional approaches to distributing stored content, such as audio, video, text or software content, involve distributing media (such as print media, magnetic or optical media and the like) which, once distributed, can typically be freely used by any person having possession of the media. Such a distribution system, however, imposes certain undesirable restraints on how the content is distributed. For example, in traditional distribution methods, payment (or a contract or commitment to make payment) is obtained at the time the media is distributed. This has a number of consequences. The payment typically must be an all-or-nothing payment, i.e., payment for all content which is on the media, even though a customer may wish to have only a portion of such content. Typically, this manner of distribution means that distribution of the physical media and payment for content must be tightly coupled such as by providing for both distribution and payment at a retail location, by a mail transaction (such as a typical book club transaction), by electronic downloading and electronic commerce, and the like. Such distribution methods have substantial associated costs, such as costs of warehousing, retail personnel, and the like. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a content distribution system which can be configured such that distribution of the media can be independent from payment or payment commitments, and/or independent from enablement of the content stored on the media.
In some systems involving electronic storage of information on media, the media which is distributed is encrypted or otherwise read-protected and the user must provide a code such as a password in order to have access to the content. This approach, however, although it may assist in certain schemes for avoiding unauthorized copying, has typically had other associated disadvantages. Such approaches typically provide for coupling the enablement of protected content to a particular computer or media reader, e.g., such that it is cumbersome or impossible to use the media in more than one machine (such as imposing a requirement for remembering, and then entering, the password when the media is provided in a second computer or reader, i.e., there is no provision for the media itself to provide, to a computer or reader, information regarding previous content enablement). When protection codes or keys are established and stored by a media fabricator (or the fabricator of a media player or host computer), or otherwise provided prior to distribution of content to a customer, the system is typically relatively inflexible, provides the potential for using a copy of the code or key to access multiple media, and presents a potential for interception of enabling keys or codes.
Many previous distribution systems, especially those relating to electronically or optically stored information, have been designed to prevent or discourage copying of content. Although certain copy protection systems may involve encryption/decryption, it is useful to understand that copy protection is not the same as content encryption and that copy protection is not the same as copyright protection. Implementation of effective copy prevention measures means that the entire cost for making copies falls on authorized distributors. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a system in which customers are permitted or encouraged to make copies, and thus bear the cost of copying, while providing for appropriate payments to content owners and other appropriate entities. It would be useful to provide a system that does not prevent (and preferably encourages) copying, but which does provide copyright protection.
Some systems involve a key, code or decryption algorithm which is stored in a player device or host computer in a manner which can make it feasible to obtain the code, key or algorithm, or to defeat the protection procedure, by analyzing or modifying the player or host computer, thus potentially gaining access to any disk used in such player or host computer. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a system in which access to a player or host key or code will not suffice, by itself to obtain access to multiple different disks.
A method and system is provided for enabling data stored on a storage medium. An engine for reading the data stored on the storage medium is connected to a host device. A user of the storage medium selects a portion of the data on the storage medium to enable. The host device sends a message to a server complying with the requirements of the distributor of the data stored on the storage medium to enable the data. For example, some distributors may require payment of information from the user before enabling the data, thus in some embodiments, the message is payment, personal registration information, or demographic information. Once the distributor""s requirements have been satisfied, the server sends a content key to the host device. In some embodiments, the distributor requirements and the content key are handles by separate servers. The content key is apiece of information required to decrypt the data, read the data, or make sense of the data stored on the storage medium. In some embodiments, the content key is a part of a decryption key necessary to decrypt the data stored on the storage medium, or a part of a file system necessary to organize and retrieve the data stored on the storage medium. The host device receives the content key and forwards it to the data storage engine. The data storage engine then stores the content key sent from the server to the storage medium. The content key is then combined with a medium enabling key stored on the storage medium during mastering to decrypt or read the data. The content key and the medium enabling key form data enabling information. They are not necessarily decryption keys. In some embodiments they are file pointers to data files stored on the storage medium, a directory structure of the data files stored on the storage medium, or an additional piece of data that is required to make sense of the data stored on the storage medium. An appropriate file system for storing data on the storage medium is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/539,841 (Attorney Docket No. M-8374 U.S.), filed on Mar. 31, 2000, entitled xe2x80x9cFile System Management Embedded in a Storage Devicexe2x80x9d and incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.
In some embodiments, the server and the data storage engine also exchange authentication messages. In some embodiments, the data storage engine sends a message to the server after attempting to store the content key on the storage medium, indicating whether the storage was successful.
The invention offers several advantages. First, it is possible for the user to enable, and therefore pay, for only portions of the data stored on the storage medium. The user does not have pay for data that the user does not require. Also, once the user pays to enable the data, the content key, is stored on the storage medium, thus the user may access the data from any data storage engine without providing the content key again. Further, the method offers robust security, because the neither the content key accessed from the content key database nor the medium enabling key stored on the storage medium during mastering alone can enable the data stored on the storage medium. Also, a copy of the original data does not transfer the content key received from the content key database.